Lovely feel good summer read. What’s not to love sun sea and sadly ur reading about it instead of living it. Easy to read and flowed well. Perfect summer book

4 Tales in One

This book takes a peak into the lives of four women (ok, one of them is really only a 17-year-old girl) over the course of one summer. They all are at different points in their lives, have different choices to make and different obstacles to overcome. So you get 4 tales for the price of one book. Actually, make that 5 tales, because we learn so much about 'supporting character' Danielle as well.

Although I couldn't identify with any of the women, I was often reminded of my time as an AuPair living in New Jersey for a year and spending a week of holiday in Cape May. Everything a bit different from the book, but close enough to get a feeling for Megan's and Molly's stories. Reading the chapters of the latter made me also cringe quite often at how much she lets others practically take over her life without saying no. Especially since she didn't even like these other people or the choices they made for her so much. I liked Molly's character a lot, but at some point didn't look forward to reading her chapters.

But all in all it is a nice summer read with not too much drama, even though there are serious topics mentioned here.

I thoroughly enjoyed Only Summer. The cover suggests it might be a light beach read, but I thought it was so much more. Rachel Cullen paints compelling, layered character portraits. The women were relatable, interesting and fully dimensional. The story itself was strong, well woven and evenly paced. I think what I most appreciated was the stellar dialogue, crisp, witty , and perfectly suited to character and situation. I was actually a little sad to say goodbye to the characters at the end.
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

Cute book. Liked how there were 4 narrators. Great beach read. Definitely different then other chick lit books.

This was a cute, light read, and perfect for the end of summer. Told in alternating voices of four women (well, 3 women and a teenage girl), it tracks them over the course of one summer. Each character is recognizable and relatable.

This is a light and easy summer read. It centers on the lives of a group of women (one of whom is a teenager) and tells of a summer with their intertwining stories.

I could barely get through this book. The characters were so poorly defined I had to keep going back to see who was who? The plot was all over the place. No I would not recommend this to friends and family.

The story follows the stories of four interlinked women over the course of a summer.
The book starts off slowly, introducing you to each woman with a bit of background to each one.
As the book progresses you're let into their summers - each woman vulnerable in her own way, causing her to make dubious decisions.
Its like watching a train going off the rails in slo-mo. You believe you can see what is going to happen and how they're going to ruin their mostly perfect lives but there's NOTHING you can do to stop it. You are a mere spectator.
I felt the sorriest for Molly. There was something so desperate about her attempts to fit in to a place where she was totally out of depths in, that she allowed herself to be used and led about.
Sabrina, her sister, on the other hand made me so mad, it was all I could do to not yell at her.
Heather, I found to be a brave woman trying to find her way back to her old normal and show her husband she was still herself. I felt so much tenderness for her.
Megan - the innocent, the youngest of the four. I felt her troubled past influenced her path in life and made her older than her physical years.
There was a great resolution to the dubious choices by the end of the book. Two of the women discovered they were the lucky ones - to have their soul mates; the other two discovered themselves and that you do get what you deserve and became I think stronger for that realization.
This was a truly lovely read. I was skeptical in the beginning, but as it progressed I loved it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the chance to read this book.

Only Summer is a great beach or anytime read. The characters are relatable and you might find someone related to you in the story. The story is well written and the locations are described well. I liked this book very much.

This is a good beach read. It does not follow the typical chick-lit scenario: boy meets girl; they fall in love; something causes contention; they save their relationship and live happily ever after.

Only Summer relates the interpersonal relationship of four women. Sabrina is recently engaged and doesn’t know how she feels about it. Sabrina’s sister, Molly, has recently moved to the upscale town of Rye and is searching for new friends. Heather is dealing with recovery from breast cancer. Megan is a teenager living on Cape Cod for the summer with Heather’s family to babysit. She cannot reach her boyfriend for an extended period of time and must deal with the new feelings the isolation causes.

This is an easy read. It lays out the problems of each of the four in alternating fashion. The characters are believable. The writing is very good in creating the emotions they feel in accordance with their situation.

The only thing that bothered me was the similar names. Megan and Molly; Anna and Abby; Peter and Parker. It is said that characters should not have names that begin with the same letter. This was very confusing and caused the reader to stop the flow of the story to verify which person was narrating at the time. That is the only reason I am giving three stars instead of four.


I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

Thank you Rachel Cullen!!! I really enjoyed this book! I could definitely see people I know in these characters and the locations. It's a definite must read. I am sure you will enjoy this book totally!

We are following the lives of four women during one summer. Sabrina that has just gotten engaged. Then we have Megan that is has just completed her junior year in high school. A mother of two girls Heather has just gotten over cancer. And then Molly that has just moved from Denver to the East and is trying to make friends. Each person is fighting a battle of their own.
I really enjoyed this book. Each person was like a neighbor. You had empathy for each woman. I want to go back and read the first two novels of this author.

This book is so much more than a beach read. It’s about life, love and learning to love yourself and doing what is is right for you and not trying to please everyone else at the the expense of your own happiness. The story flips from one characters life to another and at first I found it hard to focus on where everyone fit in to the storyline but after the first few chapters, I felt the story really took off and was easy to follow. Great read!!

I liked the cover of this book. It's not really a beach read. It deals with four different women and how they experience one summer. At first, it's confusing as the reader navigates through four different perspectives as the chapters keep switching back and forth, it is hard to keep everyone and their friends straight. Admittedly, I didn't really care for any of the characters as they all seems to be practicing various levels of deception. Ultimately, I liked Megan the most and Sabrina the least. It's a decent read.

Considering th cover and the title of this book, it is tempting to recommend it strictly as a light "beach read," but it is that and much more, because the author does explore some interesting issues. This book is told from the point of view of four interesting female characters, one of whom is a high school student. An epilogue wraps up any loose ends, making this a completely satisfying read. I look forward to recommending this title.

I love a sequel and I think this was a little better than Second Chances. Meagan was my favorite character from the original book so it was great to see her back with a few cameos from Danielle. Sabrina is still a P.O.S character in my mind (even though she finally does the right thing at the end). Her sister, Molly - I can't even. Way to generalize every single mother in the city of Rye and my husband would literally kill me if I spent that much on just 3 areas of my home. As for Heather - I liked her a lot. I hope that my friends who are going through their own cancer battles will rebound like she did and get back to somewhat of their older life.

Unfortunately, some of the same concerns with her previous book - drama, drama, drama - all fixed! Storm coming in - we're okay! In the hospital - all good! I cheated on you - let's still get married. Either have fewer characters so that you can go more in depth through their issue resolution or don't go so deep.

Overall Grade: B-

Perfect summer/lazy day read. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the characters and the trials and tribulations going on in their lives.. This book did not disappoint.
Looking forward to more from this author

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

I received Only Summer by Rachel Cullen as an ARC from NetGalley. I enjoy reading books about relationships between women and this book did not disappoint. The four women in the book faced different challenges and relied on their friendships to get them through. Would love to read other books by Rachel Cullen.

Thanks to netgalley for free copy. I read the book in a couple of hours., the book would be perfect for the beach, If you want mindless escapism, but I personally couldn’t form attachments to the characters. We learn very quickly that all of the main characters , four women and a teenager, have loads of money, but no depth of character. Heather has recently had breast cancer and is flirting with a cute neighbor, while her husband works in the city. Sabrina is engaged to a cute doctor, but is sleeping with her first love, Molly is going in debt to re- decorate a perfectly nice home to impress her new friends, etc. Megan, the summer baby sitter is taking the kids out to lunch and Heather says, “take $200 for lunch”. This is for one teen, one 12 year old and an 8 year old, and by the way, Heather is paying Megan $2,000 a week for watching the kids. All a bit rich for my blood.

Only Summer – Rachel Cullen

I was fortunate to receive this novel from Netgalley.com as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.

This is a sweet story about four women whose summer breaks end up happening far differently than they had each imagined.

Sabrina, newly engaged, is ambivalent about planning the wedding to her physician boyfriend and his wealthy family. While happy in her relationship, settling down makes her nervous – and then she re-connects with the boy who broke her heart in high school…

Heather, recovering after a bout of cancer and chemotherapy, is restless and wants to begin living again, while her doting husband wants her to rest and ‘take it easy’. While summering on Cape Cod, she meets a man who helps her recover her strength and her spirit, but at what cost to her marriage?

Molly has recently moved from Colorado to Rye, NY, and meets her first friend, Jeannie, on a local playground. It quickly becomes apparent that Jeannie and her friends come with wealth, and Molly tries hard to fit into that lifestyle. Will she risk everything to ‘keep up with the Joneses’?

Megan is a teenager who will soon be a senior in high school, and she’s looking forward to spending the summer with her boyfriend Ryan before he heads off to college in the fall. But at the last minute, Ryan is sent to London to work for his father’s company, leaving Megan with an empty summer stretching before her. With no plans in sight, Megan reluctantly accepts a summer job on Cape Cod as a companion to Heather and her family, and it will change her life.

This book gets off to a quick start, as each chapter spotlights one of the four women and it is a bit confusing, but once you have them sorted out, it rapidly becomes a great read, with characters you’ll start to love, and want to step right in and give advice to! A great, mellow read, perfect for vacation, or a day at the beach!